Shoplifting Is A Felony
Steal $500 worth or only $300 in retail theft and you will be charged with a felony. These figures show an increase from previous guidelines. Effective date January 1, 2011.
Adopted? Original Birth Certificates Revealed, It Is The Law
The new Public Act 96-0895 gives adopted adults a right to access their original birth certificates. For adopted adults born after Jan.1, 1946, they may access those records after Nov.15, 2011. A year-long public information campaign will begin immediately to notify birth parents of their rights to remain anonymous. Effective May 21, 2010.
No Foreclosure For Veterans, At Least Not For Some Time…
If it is determined that a veteran was deployed to a combat or combat support posting within the previous 12 months, that veteran has the right to request a 90-day stay in foreclosure proceedings. The court is required to grant this stay, and it is in addition to any other rights the veteran may have. Public Act 96-0901, effective January 1, 2011.
Do You Want Solar Energy? Then You Must Have It.
The Homeowners’ Solar Rights Act prohibits condominium associations from banning solar-energy systems. It applies to deed restricsions and covenants of associations as well. It exempts buildings taller than 30 feet. House Bill 5429, effective date January 1, 2011. A similar provision by FCC bans condominium associations from prohibiting satellite installations.
No Unemployment For Non-For-Profits Employees
Illinois Public Act 96-0970 requires smaller not-for-profit corporations to provide written notice to their employees and board members that their employees may not receive unemployment insurance benefits. It applies to NFPs that do not have more than 4 employees within each of 20 or more calendar weeks. Effective January, 2011.
Bullying Is Not Persecution- Illegal Immigrant Gets Deported
Alien gets deported because claims that he suffered name calling and bullying as child on account of his Jewish religion when he lived in Ukraine, and where alien also claimed that he would be jailed for failing to register for mandatory military service if forced to return to Israel. Evidence of anti-Semitic attacks, insults and threats that alien endured as child did not rise to level of persecution and failed to demonstrate that alien was under imminent risk of harm. Moreover, threat of jail time in Israel for military desertion was insufficient to constitute persecution in absence of evidence that alien would receive harsher punishment on account of his religion.
Where Do You File A Lawsuit Over Purchases Made Online?
According to bizreport, 89% of consumers prefer online shopping. But when the item purchased online does not rise to the expectations created in an online sales transaction, where can you sue the seller? Basic law on personal jurisdiction says that you must sue where the Defendant resides or where the Defendant has substantial contacts with a state where the transaction occurred. So, if the person lives in CA and you live in IL, and this was a one-time-purchase, then you must sue the person in CA. But what if this CA person does lots of sales in Illinois? The result might be different.
Will Repeat Possession of Small Amounts of Drugs Subject You to Deportation?
If a legal resident was convicted on a simple offense (a misdemeanor) for drug possession, he is not subject to deportation. If the same legal resident is convicted on a second, repeat, simple offense, AND this offense triggers a 2-year jail sentence and it becomes “aggravated felony” offense, then it is subject to removal. But a few days ago U.S. Supreme Court held that “second or subsequent simple possession offenses are not aggravated felonies under §1101(a)(43) when… the state conviction is not based on the fact of a prior conviction.”
International Abduction Treaty Trumps Parental Rights
A Chilean order prohibiting the removal of a child from a country (Chile) without the noncustodial parent’s consent is enforceable under an international child abduction treaty, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.
Who Pays For The Improvements In A Condominium?
Condominium Association cannot assess costs of window repairs only against unit owners who benefit from the improvements and tap into the common reserve to do so.
Sexting is a Crime?
One in five teenagers has sent sexually suggestive, nude or semi-nude “sext” messages by phone or otherwise. Adults risk embarrassment if their [seminude, cellphone-delivered] sext message is misdirected,” Josh Herman writes in the April Illinois Bar Journal. But when a teenager (meaning a minor between 13 and 17) creates, sends, or receives a sext message in Illinois, he or she may have committed the criminal offense of child pornography.
New Benefits for Nursing Mothers
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (50+ employees) are now required to furnish “reasonable” breaks to nursing mothers to express milk for their infants, and provide a private room, not a bathroom, for expressing milk.
Divorce- Playing Fair To Collect Your Share
There are many reasons to play fair during a divorce, from saving money to saving your sanity. Dissolving a marriage is never easy and can be both financially and emotionally draining. It is even harder if there is bad blood between you and your spouse, making it very tempting to take revenge through the legal system. However, there are many reasons to play nice during a divorce, and it goes beyond what is best for the children. Read on for five reasons for taking the highroad during a divorce, from alleviating your conscience to protecting your finances.
Key Contract Provisions
Read the key items you should have incorporated in your contract in order to deter others from taking advantage of you and/or prevent any misunderstandings in the future.
Well-written contracts avoid future disagreements, litigation in court, and simply put, loss of money. The following are the key items you should think about and, if appropriate, incorporate into your contract.
Can I Get A Divorce or Child Support If I Cannot Locate My Spouse?
In order to enter a judgment against a person, the court must have personal jurisdiction over that person. A few exceptions apply, however. You can get a divorce, if you do not know where your spouse is currently located utilizing service by publication in a newspaper covering the last known geographic area of your spouse. But you cannot get a personal judgment against a person for money damages, including child support, custody, alimony, or divide property, if you did not serve that person with personal service. In such a way, you may obtain a biforcated divorce, you get a divorce judgment and the remaining issues may be left unresolved for another time.
IL Amendment- Must Pay Support Before Asking For Custody Or Visitation
The new amendment provides that if a person petitioning to modify a custody judgment or visitation order owes past due child support to a custodial parent in an amount in excess of $10,000, the person shall post a bond in the amount of past due child support owed before the filing of the petition. Provides that the court shall hold the bond in escrow until the modification proceedings have been concluded, at which time the bond shall be transmitted to the State Disbursement Unit for disbursement to the custodial parent. Effective immediately.
My Spouse Died. What Happens To My Step-Children?
Step-parents do not have a superior right to the custody of the step-kids, but may stand in a good position to adopt them or obtain custody under the “best interest of the children” concept, especially if both biological parents are dead. There are a number of ways this issue should be tackled at the same time.
Can I Get Maintenance In A Short-Term Marriage?
The trend in IL shows that a marriage of only 1 year and 8 months may result in a maintenance award. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that on average, first marriages that end in divorce last about eight years. Divorce statistics also show that the median duration of a marriage in the United States is 7.2 years. Read for statistical maintenance (spousal alimony) averages in IL.
You Cheated, Now What? Top 10 Things To Consider
Recent revelations of superstar pro-golfer Tiger Woods’ “transgressions” in his marriage have brought the topic of cheating front and center yet again. Once the cheating has been revealed, what’s next? How does a couple go about managing the tremendous fallout from this disclosure? Here is some advice one attorney would give to Tiger, or others in his situation, as he contemplates working through this issue.
Putting A Price Tag On Gay Marriages
Who says you can’t put a price tag on marriage equality? The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law studied the economic impact of same-sex marriage and other public policy issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
Consider these findings from two recent studies and see the economic boost gay marriages provide.
